MARIETTA - City Councilman Van Pearlberg objected this week to the phrase "So help me God" included in the oath of office that Marietta police officers are required to say.

Pearlberg, a senior assistant district attorney, said it's been his experience that when citizens take the stand from time to time, making them swear to God can be a problem.

"A lot of people won't swear on a Bible. Their religious beliefs won't allow them to swear," Pearlberg said.

The topic was raised by Pearlberg during the Council's Public Safety Committee on Thursday as the committee reviewed potential changes to the Marietta Police Department's operating procedures.

Staff had asked the council to allow any certified notary designated by the police chief to administer the oath as opposed to the current policy, which requires the mayor, mayor pro tem or mayor's designee to administer the oath.

In reviewing the oath, Pearlberg noticed how it ended with the statement, "So help me God."

"It's a diverse population and a lot of people have diverse beliefs, and as a result I would not want to lose a potential officer as a result of that," Pearlberg said.

Mayor Bill Dunaway said in his eight years of administering the oath to police officers, the phrase has never caused a problem. But Councilman Philip Goldstein said just because no one has objected is not a sufficient reason to leave it unchanged.

Goldstein said city attorney Doug Haynie could come up with language to allow the police officer to say something else in the event the person didn't want to swear to God.

City Manager Bill Bruton said Haynie will bring back revised language to the council's committee meeting next month for consideration.

Pearlberg said after the meeting he was satisfied with allowing a second option to be said.

"In the court the phrase is, 'do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God,' and at times people will say 'I will affirm,' so when I saw this my thought was what happens if somebody based on their religious beliefs doesn't want to swear? Well, there's no provision there that says they can affirm. We might be in a situation where we lose a police officer," Pearlberg said.

Yet Councilmember Anthony Coleman, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, is adamantly opposed to any changes to the oath.

"What's the justification for taking it out? Just because some people don't want to recognize God? We are a Christian nation," said Coleman, a pastor at Visions for Souls Church in Mableton.

"When you're swearing to someone you're making a binding oath. That's something that should not be taken lightly. When people make a binding oath they need to know how it lines up biblically with the word of God. Marietta has had that oath of office in place for years. It goes back to we are a Christian nation," Coleman said.

As for having a certified notary administer the oath rather than the mayor, Dunaway objected to that change, saying he liked having the new police officers come before the council to introduce themselves.